


star light, star bright

by eg1701



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Astronomy, Gen, Pre slash if you squint, Vulcan Culture, breaks on the observation deck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:40:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25412533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eg1701/pseuds/eg1701
Summary: Jim likes to watch the stars in his free time. Spock doesn't quite get why.
Relationships: James T. Kirk & Spock
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17
Collections: Quote Prompt Memes





	star light, star bright

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [quoteonlyprompts](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/quoteonlyprompts) collection. 



> i saw this prompt and said "oh jim kirk" out loud so...jim kirk. 
> 
> the quote is "in our eyes, the stars are immortal"
> 
> we watch star trek every saturday morning during quarantine so i've been very emo about TOS spirk and how damn poetic that show can be.

Sometimes, after long shifts on the bridge Jim retreated to the observation deck, to watch the stars outside of the big windows.  


He knew it was kind of stupid.  


He spent hours upon hours on the bridge doing just that, but this was on his own time, of his own volition. They weren’t demanding anything of him. He did not need to be the captain, just Jim.  


Just Jim was enough for those stars.  


“Good evening Captain,” Spock greeted him, standing behind the sofa, hands clasped behind him. Formal. A funny comparison to Jim’s posture, arm thrown over the back, drink in one hand.  


“Hello Mr. Spock. Please don’t tell me there’s an emergency on the bridge already?”  


“Negative. All is well. I thought I could ask you something Captain.”  


“Shoot,” Jim replied. He took a long sip of his drink. It was a poor replacement for real alcohol, but he didn’t mind it so much anymore. Nights off weren't worth breaking out the good stuff. It had the same general affect.  


“Captain,” Spock frowned-- or frowned as much as Spock could muster, more of a vague tilt downard of his mouth, and a furrow of his eyebrows, “You spend shifts on the bridge, watching the sky, only to come here and do the same. It’s not very logical.”  


Jim chuckled, “I was wondering when someone was going to call me out on my little habit. Sit won’t you Spock?”  


Stiffly, Spock sat on the sofa as well, back straight. Jim glanced at him from the corner of his eye. Spock’s eyes were trained on the blackness outside, like he was trying to see something he’d missed, that Jim could see. A reason, an explanation. That, Jim knew, was a difference between them. He did things because he liked them, Spock did things for a reason, to accomplish something.  


“You know,” Jim sat up, leaning forward and placing his glass between his feet, hand hovering over for a moment to make sure it didn’t spill onto the carpet. Scotty would know somehow, and berate him for spilling things on his darling Enterprise, “Mr. Spock, 

I feel quite at home among the stars. Why, in our eyes, the stars are immortal.”  


“Stars have a lifespan of millions to billions of years Captain, but they’re not immortal.”  


Jim chuckled again, “But to us they are. Some of those are the same stars I saw as a child in Iowa.”  


“The light you mean,” Spock said, and Jim sighed.  


“Try to be a poet with me for a moment, Spock,” Jim said, standing up, and walking over to the window. He had the brief reminder flash through his mind-- one he always had when approaching the hull or the windows, that there were several, very strong layers keeping him from the cold, vacuum of space. That was it. If they failed? Well, he didn’t like to consider that.  


A truly horrifying thought, a reminder that even thought humanity had come so far, they could not tame outer space. They would never do so, Jim was certain of that.  


“The stars watch over us for all our lives Mr. Spock,” Jim said, “And for centuries humans reached up to touch them. How lucky we are to be the ones that get to.”  


“I think I understand,” Spock said softly, “Why you like to watch the stars, unburdened by command.”  


“Mr. Spock,” Jim smiled, “That was quite human of you.”  


“Please Captain,” Spock said, “I’d ask you to refrain from insulting me.”  


Jim laughed, “Apologies. I suppose after a long shift, it’s easier to be reminded of our place in the universe. Humans have always looked up to the stars and dreamed. You know that.”  


“Your literature is full of it. Human dreamers.”  


“And what do you think of human dreamers?”  


“Considering humanity’s achievements, most dreams have a basis in logic. Your own American space program started as a dream in a way, didn't it?”  


Jim conceded, and turned away from the window to look at Spock.  


“I should have asked, was there something you needed Mr. Spock?”  


Spock shook his head, “Only wondering where you went after your shifts, when you didn’t return to your quarters. Dr. McCoy said to look for you here, which led me to wonder why you’d want to spend more time staring out a window.”  


“A human quirk I suppose.”  


“A quirk shared by many races across the galaxy I’m sure. Vulcans being, of course, the exception. When we wish to see the stars we simply go to them. We do not see them as immortal beings as you’ve said. They are simply, well, constants in the sky. Used for direction or teaching.”  


“But you see there? Constants. A funny word you’ve used.”  


Jim thought he saw Spock smirk, but perhaps it had been a strange trick of the light, or more of a thoughtful expression than it seemed. Jim liked to try and get Spock to admit to his more human side, a game he was sure Spock was aware of. It wasn’t easy to keep those sorts of things from him.  


“A fact captain. The stars may not be immortal themselves, but they do reappear with the seasons and are the basis of stories for generations. I suppose it is logical to assume they are forever.”  


“Do the Vulcans have stories, like humans do? About the stars?”  


“A few, mostly told to little children to help them learn the names and places, and when they appear in the sky.”  


Jim paused for a moment. He returned to the sofa and picked up his drink, “Will you tell me some?”  


“If you like Captain.”  


“I would.”  


He held his glass to his lips, and watched Spock retell the story, and hoped, just a bit, that maybe Spock would understand too.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope that you liked this and to the person who entered this prompt, whoever you are, i hope you thought this was cool.


End file.
